{{short description|Highway in Connecticut}} {{About||the Route 3 that existed in the 1920s|U.S. Route 6 in Connecticut|the other route which was formerly I-491|Interstate 84 in Connecticut}} {{Use American English|date=March 2025}} {{Use mdy dates|date=January 2025}} {{More citations needed|date=October 2023}} {{Infobox road |state=CT |type=CT |route=3 |map={{maplink-road}} |map_custom=yes |length_mi=14.45 |length_round=2 |length_ref= |established=1941 (extended 1991) |direction_a=South |terminus_a={{Jct|state=CT|CT|66}} in Middletown |junction={{Jct|state=CT|CT|372}} in Cromwell<br>{{Jct|state=CT|I|91}} in Wethersfield |direction_b=North |terminus_b={{Jct|state=CT|CT|2}} in Glastonbury |counties=Middlesex, Hartford |previous_type=Route |previous_route=2A |next_type=Route |next_route=4 |browse={{ct browse|previous_type=I|previous_route=484|route=25px|next_type=I|next_route=684}} }}
'''Route 3''' is a {{convert|14.45|mi|km|adj=mid|-long}} route connecting Middletown to Glastonbury. It passes through the towns of Cromwell, Rocky Hill, and Wethersfield. The northernmost {{convert|3|mi|km}} of Route 3 is a freeway that was originally intended for the cancelled '''Interstate 491'''.
==Route description== {{Unreferenced section|date=October 2023}} [[File:CT 3-I-91, Wethersfield, CT.jpg|left|thumb|CT 3 at I-91 in Wethersfield.]] Route 3 begins at Route 66 in Middletown, and is a surface road for its first {{convert|11|mi|km}} up to Wethersfield. After crossing into Cromwell, it intersects Route 372, which offers access to Route 9 just east of the intersection. After overpassing Route 9, it continues north into Rocky Hill and overpasses Interstate 91 without an interchange. After a brief concurrency with Route 160, it crosses into Wethersfield, where it meets the eastern end of Route 287 and crosses over Route 99. After the Silas Deane Highway (Route 99) intersection, it becomes a four-lane undivided expressway. At an interchange with Interstate 91, it becomes a four-lane divided freeway crosses the Connecticut River on the William H. Putnam Memorial Bridge into Glastonbury. The freeway has one exit for Main Street (via Glastonbury Boulevard northbound and Putnam Boulevard southbound) before ending at a trumpet interchange with the Route 2 expressway at the East Hartford town line.
==History== {{Unreferenced section|date=October 2023}}
===1941=== Route 3 was established in 1941. It originally ran from West Street/Berlin Road in Cromwell, which was part of Route 72 at the time (now Route 372), to the Silas Deane Highway (Route 99) in Wethersfield.
===1958–1973 (I-491)=== {{infobox road small |header_type=former |state=CT |type=I |route=491 |location=Hartford, Connecticut |formed=1958 |deleted=1973 }} In late 1958, as part of the planned '''Interstate 491''' (a southeastern bypass of Hartford), a freeway from I-91 to Main Street in Glastonbury, crossing the Connecticut River on the Putnam Memorial Bridge, was opened. The Route 3 designation was temporarily extended along this freeway pending completion of I-491. In 1973, I-491 was cancelled due to local opposition and the Route 3 designation along this freeway segment became permanent. In the late 1980s, the freeway was extended so that it terminated at Route 2, rather than at Main Street.
===1991===
In 1991, when the Route 9 freeway through Berlin and New Britain was completed, Route 72 was truncated to end at Route 9 in New Britain. The east–west portion of the old alignment of Route 72 was reassigned to an extended Route 372 (running along Berlin Road/West Street to end at Route 99 in Cromwell). The north–south portion of old Route 72 from Cromwell to Middletown (ending at Route 66) was reassigned to Route 3.
==Junction list== ''Exits were given mile-based numbers in 2025 as part of a sign replacement project.'' {{jcttop|exit|length_ref=}} {{CTint|exit |county=Middlesex |cspan=3 |espan=8 |location=Middletown |mile=0.00 |road={{Jct|state=CT|Route|66|city1=Middletown|city2=Portland|areadab2=CDP|city3=Meriden}} |notes=Southern terminus}} {{CTint |location=Cromwell |lspan=2 |mile=3.05 |road={{jct|state=CT|Route|372|dir1=west|to1=yes|city1=Berlin|city2=New Britain}} |notes=Access via {{jct|state=CT|SR|524}} }} {{CTint |mile=3.37 |road={{Jct|state=CT|Route|372|to2=yes|I|91|Route|9|city1=Middletown|city2=Cromwell|city3=Hartford|city4=Berlin|city5=New Britain}} |notes=}} {{CTint |county=Hartford |cspan=11 |location=Rocky Hill |lspan=3 |mile=6.59 |road={{jct|state=CT|to1=yes|I|91|city1=Hartford|city2=New Haven|location3=Dinosaur State Park}} |notes=Access via SSR 411 }} {{CTint |type=concur |mile=7.21 |road={{Jct|state=CT|Route|160|dir1=east|city1=Rocky Hill}} |notes=Southern end of Route 160 concurrency }} {{CTint |type=concur |mile=7.40 |road={{Jct|state=CT|Route|160|dir1=West|city1=Berlin}} |notes=Northern end of Route 160 concurrency }} {{CTint |location=Wethersfield |lspan=4 |mile=10.21 |road={{Jct|state=CT|Route|287|dir1=west|city1=Newington}} |notes=Eastern terminus of Route 287 }} {{CTint |mile=10.37 |road={{Jct|state=CT|Route|99|city1=Hartford|city2=Rocky Hill}} |notes=Former Route 9 }} {{CTint|exit |mile=10.55 |place=Southern end of limited-access section }} {{CTint|exit |mile=11.31 |exit=11 |road={{Jct|state=CT|I|91|city1=Hartford|city2=New Haven}} |notes=Signed as exits 11A (I-91 south) and 11B (I-91 north) southbound; exits 33A and 33B on I-91 }} {{jctbridge|exit |location_special=Connecticut River |mile=11.63 |mile2=12.09 |bridge=Putnam Bridge }} {{CTint|exit |location=Glastonbury |lspan=3 |mile=12.96 |exit=13A |road={{jct|state=CT|road|To Main Street|city1=Glastonbury}} |rspan=2 |notes=Northbound exit and entrance; access via Glastonbury Boulevard |type=incomplete }} {{CTint|exit |mile=13.26 |exit=13 |espan=2 |road=none |notes=Southbound exit and entrance; access via Putnam Boulevard |type=incomplete }} {{CTint |mile=14.45 |road={{Jct|state=CT|CT|2|city1=Hartford|city2=Norwich}} |notes=Eastern terminus; signed as exits 13B (Route 2 west) and 13C (Route 2 east); exit 4A on Route 2 }} {{jctbtm|exit|keys=concur,incomplete}}
==References== {{Portal|Connecticut}} *[https://web.archive.org/web/20201021014229/https://portal.ct.gov/-/media/DOT/documents/dpolicy/hwylog/HighwayLog_Final.pdf Connecticut State Highway Log (2023)] *[http://www.kurumi.com/roads/ct/ct3.html kurumi.com - Route 3] *[http://www.kurumi.com/roads/ct/ct3.html kurumi.com - I-491]
==External links== {{Attached KML|display=inline,title}} {{Commons category|Connecticut Route 3}} {{I-91 aux}}
003 Category:Transportation in Hartford County, Connecticut Category:Transportation in Middlesex County, Connecticut Category:Middletown, Connecticut Category:Cromwell, Connecticut Category:Rocky Hill, Connecticut Category:Wethersfield, Connecticut Category:Glastonbury, Connecticut